Former intel chief: No reason for Israel to fear Islamic State

Amos Yadlin says IDF would have less trouble eliminating Islamic State terrorists than Hamas operatives hiding in Gaza hospitals.

Amos Yadlin.
(photo credit:MARC ISRAEL SELLEM/THE JERUSALEM POST)

Former military intelligence head Amos Yadlin on Wednesday downplayed the possibility of an infiltration into Israel by Islamic State terrorists, saying there was no need for the Jewish state to fear the extremist al-Qaida offshoot.

"There is no real reason to be afraid. ISIS is an expert at PR and intimidation. They murder their prisoners in a shocking way and thereby gain media attention," Yadlin said at an event held by the Ashkelon Academic College.

While the insurgent terrorists have captured territory in nearby Syria and Iraq as part of their stated objective to reinstate an Islamic caliphate, Yadlin stated that "they only succeed in areas that no one wants to go to - the neglected Sunni areas of northeastern Syria and the deprived areas of Iraq."

According to the former military intelligence chief, Islamic State insurgents will face superior armed forces if they reach Shi'ite-majority cities that are motivated to protect main population centers like Baghdad and Karbala.

Yadlin claimed that the Islamic State would be easier for the IDF to eliminate than Hamas terrorists who he said were hiding in hospitals in Gaza.

He added that the IDF "should not have a problem" dealing with the extremist organization.